Going Insane
by Rexku
Summary: "I don't know what it is, or what it wants from me, but I will not let it hurt anypony anymore. Not over my cold, dead body." Thunder Cloud faces a nightmare unlike any he thought possible in his safe and small town of Ponyville.
1. Introduction

My name is Thunder Cloud. I reside in Ponyville, Equestria. I need to make a record of my encounters with that _horrible_ thing, whatever the hell it is, before it decides to take me. I know it will, it's only a matter of when it wants to. I hope to keep my findings inside this notebook along with all of my video evidence, well at least the parts of it that are still useable. I guess I should explain in case the two articles become separated.

Two months ago, a filly went missing while playing near the Everfree forest. The search party was one of the largest I've ever seen. It looked like every Pegasus in Cloudsdale was searching the forest from above. Princess Celestia herself combed the Everfree forest with her magic, but to no avail. The only thing recovered from the forest was a small diamond encrusted tiara…

Ponyville was on edge. There was a full blown investigation that lasted for two weeks after the filly was reported missing. Nothing more was ever discovered as to the fate of the poor little soul. Just as most of Ponyville was starting to simmer down, it had happened again. The only difference this time was that there was a witness. I was that witness.

I wish I could forget it. It was the most disturbing thing I have ever come across in my entire life. I had been accompanying a friend of mine through the Everfree forest. He was looking for a spot to inspire his musical writing or something like that, and he always was more relaxed in nature. Some might wonder what we were doing going to the Everfree forest looking for a calm and serene spot in the first place. Honestly, we had no idea either. Just the way our heads worked sometimes. We came across a clearing that would make one think that they had left the Everfree forest. It was absolutely beautiful. The sunlight poured into the clearing at the most amazing angle. Colorful flowers grew scattered around the peaceful clearing.

He said it was perfect and that he couldn't wait to start writing his music. When I asked him how he expected to find it again, his grin faded. We laughed it off and I agreed to show him to and from the clearing when I wasn't busy.

We stayed until nightfall just talking about flying, music, cute mares, nothing too particular. While the sky began turning from a bright orange to a more menacing black, we started to leave the forest and head home.

Not long after leaving the clearing, I felt as if we weren't the only two ponies wandering the Everfree forest that particular night. Bringing up the idea to my friend just put us both on edge, well, more so than we were to begin with. I looked behind us and saw something white move behind a tree. Brushing it off as a bird, I shook it off and kept walking down the path.

The path we were on was definitely the same we took on the way in, but it felt longer. Plus, the feeling of being watched only grew the further we walked. My friend pointed out a carving on one of the trees we passed. It was a simple drawing, but very out of place. I knew for a fact that it wasn't there when we passed during the day. It was a circle with an X sitting in the center.

I told him I would fly through the canopy above and try to see where we were. Before I knew it, I was hovering above the tree line. We had a bit further to go, but it wouldn't take very long. I heard him scream and started a dive-bomb straight back to the forest floor. Then I saw it. It had the shape of a pony, but there was just no way. That creature was so _not_ a pony! It was tall. Looked like it was wearing a suit. It had these weird tendrils coming from its back or shoulders. I couldn't tell which from the front. They looked like tentacles or maybe branches or something. One of them was holding my friend around the throat a few feet off the ground. He was choking to death. I could tell from his face. But looking at his face meant I had to look at its face too. But there was no face. No eyes. No nose. No mane. Completely blank. Like a mannequin.

My friend was trying to say run. I could tell, but just barely. He kept signaling me to leave, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave him there to be murdered by that _thing_. But my wings wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't take off. I watched in horror as his neck snapped and he quit pulling at the tendril on his neck. His body fell to the forest floor with a thud. Wide-eyed, I found the strength, or fear, to turn around and run. My wings still refused to work, so I dashed down the path as far as my legs would take me.

Every time I looked over my shoulder, that thing would be three trees behind me. I broke through the last set of trees and kept rushing until I made it into town. My lungs were burning from inhaling the chilly November air, but that was the least of my worries. I ran straight back to my house refusing to look back until I made it inside. Only when I slammed open the door to my house and closed it right behind my tail and locked every door and window did I dare rest. I peered out of every window in the house. The creature was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't mean it was gone.

I scoured the house looking for my old video camera. My parents had gotten it for me when I graduated flight school, but I knew it would still be in working condition. I knew that nopony would ever believe what I had witnessed that night. I had to have proof.

The next day I reported my friend missing in the Everfree forest after going back to the scene of the incident. His body wasn't there anymore. I didn't expect it to be, but I had to be sure. Something told me that this is what took that filly. The poor girl. I've decided to upload my notebook entries to this website. I'm not too good with computers and I have no idea how to upload tapes, so don't hold your breath with the videos.

I don't know what that thing is, how it got here, or what it wants. But I do know this: I'm going to kill it. For Bright Chord.


	2. November 11, 2012

Two days ago, I made a trip to the library here in Ponyville. I had no idea what I was looking for, let alone where to begin. There was a purple unicorn looking at some kind of a list and a baby dragon organizing some of the books that were piled onto a desk. I started glancing at the many books lining the shelves that nearly reached to the ceiling wondering where in Equestria I'd begin.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry sir." The purple mare said as she was rolling up her list. "What can I do for you today?" Her beautiful mane and amazing smile backed by that gorgeous voice put me in a daze. "Um, sir? Is everything okay?"

I caught myself staring at her eyes and I shook my head once to get my mind back on the task at hand. "Oh, uh, yes. Sorry, but would you happen to have a book about creatures? Specifically ones that would live in the Everfree forest?"

"Well, there are tons of creatures that would live in that forest. I'm not sure that there's even a book big enough to catalog them all. Plus, hardly anypony has the guts to stay in the forest long enough to do so. Spike?" The unicorn called over to the baby dragon who was already walking towards a bookcase fairly close to where he was already working.

"I'm already on it." He pushed a ladder across the wall a few feet to one of the many bookshelves. As he climbed up the ladder to reach one of the shelves, the purple mare beside me held out her hoof.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle by the way."

"Very nice to meet you Miss Sparkle." I replied while shaking her hoof. The dragon pulled a few books off the shelf he was reaching for and nearly fell off the ladder as Twilight uttered a small giggle.

"You can just call me Twilight. If you need any more help finding a book, don't be afraid to ask Spike. He might be able to help you better than I could since he's been working the cataloguing system for almost two months now." The baby dragon walked up to me and handed the three books he was carrying over to me. I thanked him for helping me out and he pointed me towards an empty table I could read them at.

"Thanks Spike." I told the dragon as I began walking over toward the table reading the titles of the books as I walked. I counted about six books.

"No problem," he replied "and you heard what Twilight said. If you need any more help, anything at all, come let me know." At that, he went back to his previous work of placing the library books back into their correct locations on the shelves. I sat down at the table Spike pointed me towards and pulled up the first book.

I had found creatures I had never even heard of in those six books. Most of the creatures were found in other parts of Equestria, far away from Ponyville, but are believed to live in the forest as well. However, as if my luck would have been otherwise, there was no mention of the creature I saw kill my best friend. I closed the last book and stared at the table lost in thought.

"So, no luck with the books?" I heard the purple librarian ask over my shoulder. I shook my head in defeat. "Well, was there anything more specific you were looking for? You were a tad vague earlier."

I chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Heck, I don't know if I believe it myself."

"Well, try me." She said as she sat down in the chair across from me so that we could speak more comfortably. "You never know when somepony might believe you." I racked my brain for a second trying to sort out my mind. I sighed and began to tell her everything starting from when Bright Chord and I ventured into the forest and finding the clearing and ending with me leaning against the inside of my locked door with pure terror pumping through my veins. I was sure to describe that _thing_ with as much detail as possible, but my head would hurt every time I tired thinking about it. "I think I might just be insane. I guess I just came here hoping to find some answers." Twilight's eyes were slightly wider than usual (I assume).

"Well, have you told anypony else about all of this?" She asked looking me in the eye.

"Do you believe me?" I asked finding myself quite surprised.

"I'm not sure." She replied after taking a short pause. "You surely don't seem like the kind of pony to make something up like that. Especially after that filly went missing a few weeks ago. But, do I have to explain why I have my doubts?" I shook my head in silence.

"I don't blame you. I saw it myself and I don't even believe it happened. I know it wasn't a dream because before I came here, I stopped by Bright Chord's house. He's hardly awake around this time and he was nowhere to be found. I searched everywhere I could think of and I couldn't find a trace of him. Anyway, thank you for all your help. It's very much appreciated." I stood up from the chair I was occupying and began walking towards the door.

"Hold on a second." I heard Twilight call to me before I got too far from the table. "I think I know of a place where we could get some better information. We could go to the confidential archives in Canterlot. I have direct clearance to use them when I need to as a direct order from Princess Celestia. If there's anywhere we would find information for you, it would be there. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but I'm very curious myself."

We agreed to meet back in front of the Library three days from now. I have no idea what to do until then. I'm working up the courage to go back into the Everfree forest again before the two of us depart for Canterlot. I've toyed with my camera a little in my spare time, and I have found a night-vision setting. I guess I'm going to have to put it to good use.


	3. November 18, 2012 (1of2)

I don't know how it is I'm still alive anymore. I had decided to check out the clearing again. It just seemed like the most logical step to take at that point. I went during the day to refresh my memory of the area. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. I really had no idea why I was there or what I would even be looking for. I remember being really cautious. So much so that every little noise made from a branch in the wind would send my head spinning towards it. I couldn't really help it, and it's not like anypony could blame me. I was in the Everfree Forest for crying out loud. There are things in there that could eat me alive that could possibly be even worse than whatever took Bright Chord's life.

Anyway, I found my way to the clearing without a problem. When I found it, I noticed a medium-sized manticore sleeping beneath one of the far trees. Even though it was still a baby, it was almost twice my size and could easily make me a quick snack. The last thing I wanted was an encounter with a manticore, so I backed out of the clearing as quietly as I could and took my video camera out of my saddlebag. I decided it would be easier to fly and record instead of trying to keep the camera steady in one hoof, so I spread my wings and hovered above the ground. I had practiced holding the camera this way anyway, so getting steady footage wasn't a problem. However, it wasn't my hooves that were shaking. It was my entire being.

The air had suddenly gotten extremely chilly and I couldn't help but shiver. It usually didn't get that cold in November, but then again, I was in the Everfree forest, so I paid it no mind. I wasn't expecting the sudden drop in temperature, so I was sort of unnerved. I remember feeling sick, like nauseous in the stomach; like I wanted to throw up. Then there was this constant ringing in my ears that was giving me a migraine. I was darting my head left and right looking for anything that could be causing this, but all I could see were trees and bushes. The feeling in my stomach was only escalating, and I knew how it was going to end. I held the camera in one hoof and dropped to the damp forest floor. I leaned onto one of the trees and got to see my breakfast again.

I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like my ears were going to start bleeding or my head would split open. I stopped recording, put the camera back into my saddlebag, and exploded through the canopy of leaves above me. I flew as fast as my wings would carry me back into Ponyville. As I flew, the ringing in my ears settled down, and my stomach had started to settle.

When I got back home, I locked the door behind me and closed all the curtains. I felt drained and still had the taste of bile in my mouth. I took a quick shower and rinsed my mouth out in an attempt to stifle the awful sensation. Grabbing my camera out of my saddlebag, I decided to review the footage in case the camera saw something that I didn't.

It started out with a clear view of the manticore. Nothing showed up that I hadn't noticed myself up until the time I began feeling ill. The video was becoming fuzzy and the audio would cut out every so often. I must have panned the camera without realizing it, because as I started to descend, I could make out something black sticking out from one of the trees. Before I could examine it too much, the footage ended.

My head was swimming with questions that I didn't dare ask anypony directly. I couldn't wait to go to the library with Twilight. If there was a place that would have any information at all about the creature, it would be the Canterlot archives.

I awoke to the sunlight on my eyes the next morning. After crawling out of bed, I walked into the kitchen to find something to eat. After doing so and bathing, I sat in my living room and pondered on what I could do that day. There was no way in hell I was going back into that forest just yet. I wanted to for some reason, but I didn't have the nerve yet. After a few minutes of pondering my day, I knew exactly what I had to do.

You see, I've always had this weakness for sugar, and my sweet tooth was going crazy the past few days. I made my way over to Sugarcube Corner with a mind filled with sweet junk food. As I opened the door to the cheerful shop, I was greeted by an even more cheerful face.

"Hi Thunder Cloud! I haven't seen you here in, like, forever!" The pink mare shouted from behind the counter of the store.

"Hey Pinkie," I said with a chuckle, "what do you mean forever? I was here about six days ago." Yeah, I'm not too proud of it, but I frequent this store more than a foal attends school at times.

"Well yeah, but that's a really long time for you. Are you on a diet or something? Not that you would need to go on a diet or anything, then again-"

"Pinkie."

"you aren't the skinniest pony around town, not that there's anything wrong with that-"

"Pinkie."

"I mean you _are_ at a decent looking weight for your age, not that you're old, although you always did look older than your age, speaking of which isn't it your birthday next month, I have to start planning your party right away, we would need to have a cake, some balloons-"

"Pinkie!" I began laughing. "Breath girl! And how many times do I have to ask you not to throw me a party?"

"Oh yeah. You don't like parties very much. That's okay though, maybe next year." She had the most hopeful look on her face that it almost made me let her throw me a party. Almost. "Anyway, what can I get for you today?" Just as I was about to order my usual array of sweets, the bell on the door rang. "Oh, hi Twilight! How are you doing today?" I turned around to see Twilight walking into the store.

"Hi Pinkie," Twilight said as the door closed behind her, "I'm doing fine. I came to pick up Rarity's cupcakes. Hey Thunder Cloud. Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"What happens tomorrow?" Pinkie Pie asked carrying a white box towards the counter.

"Oh, well tomorrow Thunder Cloud and I are going to Canterlot to do some research. I'd ask if you wanted to tag along, but the balloon's kind of crowded already." Twilight responded as she dropped a few bits on the counter and used her magic to pick up the box.

"I wouldn't have been able to go anyway. I have to babysit for Mr. and Mrs. Cake tomorrow."

"I'd love to stay and chat, but if Rarity doesn't get her cupcakes soon, she might think I ran off with her bits." They both laughed and said their goodbyes as Twilight strolled out the door.

"She's one fine looking mare isn't she?" Pinkie asked from behind the counter. I muttered a quick agreement under my breath without realizing it. "Ah-ha! Just as I suspected!" Not realizing she heard me, I gave her a confused look. She ran around the counter and wrapped me in a tight hug. "You've got a crush on Twilight Sparkle! I could see it in your eyes the moment she came in the store!"

"Come on Pinkie, not so loud!" I felt my face heating up whether from embarrassment or lack of oxygen though, I can't really say. "Somepony might hear you."

She hardly took note of what I said as she continued her though while releasing me from her hug of doom. "Oooooh, and you two are going two are going to be all alone for like two hours tomorrow, well besides Spike, but that lazy dragon's always taking a nap wherever he can, so he shouldn't be a bother, but can you just imagine how romantic that'll be?!"

"As wonderful as that sounds Pinkie, I don't really have the time for a relationship right now. I have some unfinished business that's really keeping me busy." In truth, I really didn't want to get too close to anypony. I didn't want to risk that creature, whatever it may be, hurting anypony else. I also saw what losing somepony close to you can do from Bright Chord's parents. I didn't want that for anypony else as long as I could stop it.

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that Thunder Cloud." Pinkie popped up behind the counter again with a meaningful look on her face. "Do you want me to grab your usual order?" I nodded with a small smile and dropped my bits on the counter. "Well hey, while you two are in Canterlot, you should go check out this neat-o club that just opened a few weeks ago! I know you aren't too amused with large parties, but a few drinks could be just what you need to relax a little." She gave me a small wink while mentioning drinking. I gave serious consideration to it as I took my sweets and Pinkie and I said our goodbyes.

I got home as the sun began to set upon the horizon. I found peace within those few short moments as I gazed into the crimson evening sky. I felt a stray breeze blow my mane across my forehead and wished time could halt so that I may live in that moment forever. However, there were still some more pressing matters that required my attention.

I emptied my bag of sweets onto the kitchen table and tossed a few of them back into my saddlebag. I checked the charge on my camera and decided to rest an hour or so before going back into the forest.

That had felt like the most idiotic thing I had ever done. It likely was, however I felt like I was missing something. Something very important. I put on a black scarf and an orange wool cap to combat the frigid night air and began making my way over to the forest entrance.

As I arrived at the forest, I regretted not bringing a flashlight along with me. It felt pointless to go back for one, so I decided to instead use the built-in light on my camera for the time being. The light wasn't anywhere near as powerful as I could have hoped, but it was better than having to stumble around in the moonlight. Granted, the moonlight was rather strong that night, almost to the point where I needed no artificial illumination at all.

I couldn't help but find my way back into the clearing again. My hooves felt out of my control as I shambled through the brush. As I neared the clearing, I had no need for the camera light anymore. The moonlight filled the clearing and illuminated the flowers I had seen twice before in a whole new way. Again, I wished for time to halt so that I could be here forever. However, I began to remember my reasoning for being here and decided to leave the clearing.

As I began to turn around, a small slip of white on the ground caught my eye. I would have dismissed it for a flower had I not taken a second look. Walking up to it, I picked it up to find it to be a crumpled up piece of paper. I unfolded it and could not believe my eyes. The paper contained simple sheet music. However, this music was signed at the bottom right hand corner of the page. Bright Chord, my late best friend, had written this music several years ago and intended for us to perform it at some talent show. He never got to finish the piece due to reasons he refused to speak of.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why in Equestria were Bright Chord's old compositions sitting in the middle of some Celestia-forsaken clearing? There was no logical explanation, so I shrugged it off at the time and shoved the score into my saddlebag. I had decided it was about time I made use of the night vision setting on my camera and began to hover above the forest floor. After toying with the camera a bit, I set it to record and slowly flew through the forest.

Suddenly, my muzzle was filled with an unbearable stench. I gagged while trying to locate the source of the putrid odor. Turning around, I found myself staring into two bright green orbs. I feel out of the air in surprise and landed on my back as the wolfish monster composed of dead wood let out a terrifying roar. I recognized the Timber Wolf from one of the books I had read in the library. One detail I vividly remembered was that Timber Wolves rarely travelled alone. As though on cue, two more sets of glowing green orbs appeared from the darkness. The six glowing eyes were fixated on me as I scrambled back into the air.

I flew as fast as my wings would carry me. I knew they weren't far behind since I could still smell their rancid breath. To this day, I am haunted by that smell. I heard one of the creatures make a pained cry and the sounds of chase ceased. I risked a glance backwards and instantly wished I had just kept flying.

There it was yet again. That same beast I was hoping was all an illusion. The demon haunting my nightmares still to this day. It was holding the Timber Wolves by the throat. My mind raced back to the night I saw Bright Chord in the same position as I heard a spine chilling crack once again and saw the green orbs of the smallest monster fade from existence. The creature, still as neutral appearing as ever, hurled the corpse at me. I fell to the ground again, narrowly missing the body as it soared past me. The creature looked as though it would be trying once more. I noticed my camera lying on the ground a few feet away from me. As I reached out to grab it however, a deceased Timber Wolf landed between myself and the camera.

Doing the only logical thing at that point, I leapt from the ground and blazed through the thick tree branches above us. I refused to quit flying long after I plowed through the final clumps of leaves. I was surprisingly high up in Princess Luna's glorious night sky before I even dared rest.

Hovering in the air, I stared down at the tops of the trees I had emerged from. Sighing in relief, I brought my eyes towards the moon. The sight of the moon always calmed my nerves, however, it wouldn't quite do the trick after the experience I had no way of predicting. I turned toward the direction of Ponyville with the intention of flying back home, however, standing atop a cloud nearly ten meters away from me was the creature.

"No," I muttered under my breath, "no, that- that can't be. That's not possible." I was slowly floating away from it. "You don't even have wings. How are you-?" My thoughts were cut short as I noticed it still held a single Timber Wolf in its tendrils. I hardly had time to notice the Timber Wolf before it came soaring at me. Once again, I narrowly dodged the corpse. "Leave me alone!" I shouted at the creature as I bolted straight down a few yards and past the cloud it stood upon.

Minutes later, I was back in my home. The doors were locked, every curtain was drawn shut, and the only light came from a single candle illuminating my bedroom. I found myself shoving piece after piece of candy into my mouth in an effort to calm my racing mind. This was no illusion, that much was certain at that point.

I finally realized how late it had gotten and decided to try getting some rest when I noticed my camera sitting upon my bed. I picked it up and almost placed it down on my desk when I remembered dropping it hardly an hour ago in the forest.

I pulled the small side screen open and saw that the camera was still recording, but the charge was too low for me to review the entire footage. The last time I needed it charged, I got Bright Chord to do it for me. The camera runs off of a special spell inscribed on the inside of it. Being a Pegasus, that's a slight drawback since I have no way of doing it myself. The camera can run for a long time off of a single charge, so that's quite convenient. Anyway, I had placed the camera on my desk, threw my scarf and wool cap onto the floor, and jumped into my bed refusing to be deprived of any more sleep. I also didn't want to think too hard about how my camera returned to my home. I was stressing out enough as it was.

The next morning, I awoke to the sunlight warming my muzzle. No matter how tightly I draw my curtains, the sunlight always seems to find its way through. It's as if Celestia herself is punishing me for not being awake to enjoy her beloved daytime. Just as I had begun to drift back to sleep facing away from my window, I remembered that I had to meet up with Twilight that morning. I rolled out of bed, fixed my bed-mane, and almost trotted out the door when I realized that I still had an hour to kill before I had to actually leave. The library was only a five minute walk away, so I figured I would wait before having to enter the morning chill.

Half an hour later, I was admiring the scenery while standing outside of the library. It was still very early in the morning, and the sun was still rising. How it makes it through my curtains so early in the morning, I'll never know. There was a strange fog about Ponyville that morning; however it was rather common that time of year. What made it strange was the emptiness of the town. Sure, it was early, but shouldn't there have been at least one other pony out and about? Well, I couldn't really blame them; I wouldn't be out here in the chilly temperature if I didn't have to be either. Just then, the doors to the library swung open with a slight creak.

Twilight strolled out wearing a saddlebag with her cutie mark on each side of it and a purple scarf that really brought out her eyes, although, I hadn't the guts to mention that out loud. "Oh, good morning Thunder Cloud. You're here a little early. I guess I'm a little ahead of schedule since mister grumpy over here," she said as she gestured towards Spike who was lazily strolling over to the balloon sitting beside the library, "actually woke up when I told him to this morning."

I chuckled. "That's alright; I share in his enthusiasm for mornings. I had a bit of a rough night last night, so waking up wasn't number one on my priority list. I love your saddlebag by the way."

"Thanks," she said looking back at it, "my friend Rarity designed it for me. Maybe later we can see about getting yours decorated like that too if you'd like."

"That would be nice. Oh, do you need any help working the balloon?"

Twilight shook her head. "Nope, I've already charmed it to take us straight to Canterlot, so it will be doing just about everything itself. Also, I've already sent a letter to Princess Celestia notifying her of our visit, and she insists we stay in the castle for the weekend and that we meet with Princess Luna and herself in the castle later tonight."

I froze upon hearing this. "I'm going to meet the princesses? Oh no, I didn't bring anything fancy to wear. I probably don't even have anything worth wearing in front of the princesses! What kind of an impression would I give them if I just showed up looking like I don't have a care in the world?"

Twilight giggled at my banter. "Calm down Thunder Cloud, you sound just like Pinkie Pie. The princesses won't care if you aren't wearing anything extravagant. We should get going if we plan on getting to Canterlot before lunch." My nerves were calmed for the moment, so I nodded and we both entered the balloon. I pulled my camera out of my saddlebag as we began to ascend and showed it to Twilight. I opened the compartment on the bottom of the camera and asked Twilight if she wouldn't mind performing the spell to charge it. She picked it up and looked closely at the writing on the inside of the camera. Twilight closed her eyes and her horn began to glow purple. The inside of the camera flashed bright green for a split second and before I knew it, she was handing the camera back to me. "There, that ought to do it. That's a pretty neat spell. Do you mind if I write it down? It could prove useful someday." I told her I didn't mind and she levitated a quill and parchment from her bag. After a few quick scribbles, the writing utensils were placed neatly back into her saddlebag.

I turned around and placed my fore hooves over the edge of the balloon's basket. I closed my eyes and felt the cool breeze blow across my muzzle. I glanced down and couldn't help but notice the way the sunrise parted the fog on the field we were passing over. Off to my right I could see a small forest on the ground. I thought I could see somepony on the edge of the forest looking up at us, but I quickly looked away in fear of becoming paranoid.

"I love watching the sun rise." I hadn't realized Twilight was looking at the horizon like I was so I was slightly startled by her comment. I couldn't help but notice how close she was to me. I didn't say anything about it though. I was rather enjoying being close to her.

"If you think this is beautiful, you should see the sunset from this one spot I know just outside of Ponyville. I'm sure you've seen the one giant oak tree in the middle of the meadows west of Ponyville right? Well, if you sit beneath that tree and stare off into the horizon as the sun sets, I guarantee you won't be able to look at sunsets the same way again."

"Really?" Twilight asked with a hint of astonishment in her voice.

"Without a doubt." I replied. "Words just wouldn't do it justice. Also, if you stay long enough in the summer months, you'll get to see the Midnight Jasmines bloom."

"Midnight Jasmine…I think I remember reading about those somewhere." She said placing a hoof on her chin.

"I think they're just amazing. My grandmother used to tell me her favorite tea was made with their leaves, but I never got to try any myself." I could swear she was slowly edging her way closer to me, but I just turned the idea away.

"Well, we'll just have to try it out won't we? You said the summer months, so we'll have to wait a while to see how good the tea is."

"Well, not necessarily," I told her, "I have a few potted inside my home. They can tolerate the winter chill if cared for, but they can live much longer indoors during this time of year. If you come across anything about them later in the library, I'd love to hear about it. I'm not a huge flowers kind of pony, but I like to read about Midnight Jasmines. They were my grandmother's favorite flower."

"Alright, so let's see, we're looking for books on dangerous, violent, silent, quite possibly evil creatures with tentacles and books on Midnight Jasmines. Nothing odd about that at all." She giggled as she too started to lean off the side of the basket. By now, I could feel her side against my left wing. There was no denying it at this point. She was getting closer, but was it on purpose? I had to be sure. I continued the conversation as if nothing caught my attention.

"But normal is boring. This is much more…interesting." The Twilight did something I hadn't quite expected. She leaned onto me and laid her head on my left shoulder and yawned. I remembered what I had told Pinkie Pie, and everything in my soul was saying not to get close to anypony. However, against my better judgment, I did the one thing I kept telling myself not to do. I knew I would regret it if anything went wrong, but I lifted my left wing and draped it over Twilight. I could feel her softly breathing beside me as my lack of sleep was catching up to me. I tried to stay awake and enjoy the moment as long as possible before my drooping eyelids finally won and I would find myself dreaming of the events awaiting us that evening. However, not even my darkest nightmares could prepare me for what awaited me in the days to come.


End file.
